Pacific Coast Highway reopens a month after deadly fires; proof-of-residence or entry passes required in burn areas
Pacific Coast Highway reopened Monday morning, nearly a month after it was closed when flames from the deadly Palisades Fire ripped through hillside Los Angeles neighborhoods, destroying properties all the way down to the beach.
Traffic along the scenic shoreline route began moving again at 8 a.m. with just one lane in each direction and limited speed from Santa Monica northwest to the Ventura County line.
“Essential traffic only is strongly encouraged,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said in a statement. Cleanup and utility repairs continue, and Horvath warned that “this will not be the same PCH as before the fires.”
Proof-of-residence or entry passes are still required to enter the Palisades burn zone.
Homes along Pacific Coast Highway sit in ruins after being burned by the Palisades fire in Malibu on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. The Palisades Fire, burning in the Santa Monica Mountains, has burned an estimated 5,300 structures. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
FILE – Homes along the Pacific Coast Highway are seen burned by the Palisades Fire, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)
The National Guard directs traffic at Pacific Coast Highway and Entrada Drive on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. PCH was re-opened Monday to through traffic after being closed since the Palisades fire on January 7th. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Homes in the hills above Pacific Coast Highway sit in ruins after being burned by the Palisades Fire in Malibu, CA, on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. The Palisades Fire, burning in the Santa Monica Mountains, has burned an estimated 5,300 structures. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Homes along Pacific Coast Highway are seen burned and damaged while a few still stand after the Palisades Fire, Jan. 12, 2025, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Pelicans fly over the remains of beachfront property along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu on Thursday. Many homes along the Malibu coastline were damaged or destroyed in the Palisades fire. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
The remains of homes in the 21000 block of Rambla Vista that burned above Pacific Coast Highway during the Palisades Fire in Malibu, CA, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The remains of beachside homes that burned along Pacific Coast Highway during the Palisades Fire in Malibu, CA, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Burn scares in the hills above Pacific Coast Highway during the Palisades Fire in Malibu, CA, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The remains of beachside homes that burned along Pacific Coast Highway during the Palisades Fire in Malibu, CA, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The remains of beachside homes that burned along Pacific Coast Highway during the Palisades Fire in Malibu, CA, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The remains of beachside homes that burned along Pacific Coast Highway during the Palisades Fire in Malibu, CA, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The remains of beachside homes that burned along Pacific Coast Highway during the Palisades fire in Malibu as seen on Wednesday. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
1 of 13
Homes along Pacific Coast Highway sit in ruins after being burned by the Palisades fire in Malibu on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. The Palisades Fire, burning in the Santa Monica Mountains, has burned an estimated 5,300 structures. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
LA fires: Pets displaced from shelters up for adoption in Bay Area
The PCH partially reopened Sunday morning on the northernmost section in Malibu. Reopening of the remaining section in the Pacific Palisades area was delayed as Los Angeles city officials made a last-minute decision to keep the checkpoints in place over concerns of public safety and looting.
LAPD will transfer responsibility for Palisades access to the California Highway Patrol and the National Guard, which will enable the LAPD to increase service citywide, Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement.
“We continue to adapt in real time to this dynamic situation. This plan secures the Palisades and eases the strain on LAPD, whose ability to respond across LA has been impacted for nearly one month,” Bass said.
Rain is in the forecast starting Tuesday, and the highway will be monitored for hazards including mud and debris flows, Horvath said.
The Palisades Fire began during heavy winds Jan. 7, destroying or damaging nearly 8,000 homes, businesses and other structures and killing at least 12 people. Another wind-whipped fire started the same day in Altadena, a community to the east, killing at least 17 people and destroying or damaging more than 10,000 homes and other buildings.
Both fires were finally fully contained last week.
